Images from the FA Cup matches played on Saturday
Leicester City were give a Premier League reality check when the unlikely leaders lost 1-0 at Liverpool on Saturday after Manchester United slumped to a third consecutive league defeat to pile more pressure on manager Louis van Gaal.
Manchester City's stellar season gathered yet more momentum as the runaway English Premier League leaders reached the League Cup semi-finals with a penalty shootout victory at Leicester City.
Manchester City emerged from a trough of despair to beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 and move to within three points of the Premier League title at Wembley on Saturday.
Manchester City suffered their first home Premier League loss in eight months as a shock 3-2 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday left Pep Guardiola's champions trailing leaders Liverpool by four points.
ManchesterCity moved up to third in the Premier League on Saturday while Newcastle United boosted their hopes of survival by coming back from two goals down at Liverpool to draw 2-2 and secure a precious point.
Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe cashed in on a horrendous defensive mix-up to give his struggling side a much-needed 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday.
Only one point separates the two sides with Chelsea on 31 and City on 30 but Antonio Conte's impact at Stamford Bridge appears greater than his City counterpart Pep Guardiola's at the Etihad.
IMAGES from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
Jose Mourinho, unveiled as Manchester United's new manager on Tuesday, declared he is a winner who aims to return the club to its traditional position of dominance.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
England under-21 coach Gareth Southgate looks likely to be put in temporary charge of the national team after the resignation of Roy Hodgson following the side's Euro 2016 exit, British media reported on Wednesday.
Manchester City thrashed Southampton 6-1 to remain top of the Premier League.
Southampton's rich vein of form in the Premier League continued as they beat Burnley 3-1 with two goals from Charlie Austin on Sunday while another promoted side, Middlesbrough, fared just as poorly, losing 1-0 at home to Watford.
Manchester United held on for a goalless draw in a feisty derby with Manchester City after midfielder Marouane Fellaini was sent off for a headbutt in the Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
Cardiff had lost six of their previous seven games but, knowing that anything but a victory would probably end their survival hopes after one season in the top flight, overcame a strong Brighton start to play with growing confidence and fully deserved their victory.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal goes into the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on Saturday facing echoes of the 1990 showpiece between the two sides that proved so pivotal in the career of Alex Ferguson.
Manuel Pellegrini aimed what felt like a surprise parting shot at Manchester City on Sunday by saying his life had been made difficult by the club's decision to announce in February that Pep Guardiola would take over as manager next season.
Former Cup winners Coventry, now plying their trade in the bottom division of the Football League, revived memories of happier times as Jordan Willis and Jack Grimmer scored the goals in a 2-1 victory at the Ricoh Arena.
The visitors got off to the perfect start when a mix up at the back saw Riyad Mahrez square for Jamie Vardy to tap into an open goal in front of the Kop in the third minute. Liverpool looked for an immediate riposte, but Salah missed two gilt-edged opportunities before Sadio Mane saw an effort disallowed for offside as Juergen Klopp's men grew frustrated.
Ex-Chelsea coach cites past glories behind Jose Mourinho's survival.
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Here are talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
Tottenham Hotspur's clash with Manchester United on Sunday will show whether manager Mauricio Pochettino made the right call when he sacrificed progress in Europe to focus on clinching Spurs' first Premier League title in 55 years.
It is time to deliver for Paris St Germain and Manchester City as the two mega-rich teams prepare to lock horns in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Premier League leaders Manchester City won their derby with United 3-1, while Liverpool kept pace with a home win over Fulham.
Ranieri had recognised his future at the West London side was uncertain after Wednesday's stinging 2-0 defeat at Southampton.
There may be little glamour in being a mid-table Premier League team but this season suggests that those clubs who become bored with such an existence can find the alternative is far worse.
Klopp fined by FA for referee comments after West Ham draw
Leicester City will be wary of a reality check when the Premier League front-runners visit Arsenal on Sunday before Tottenham Hotspur's burgeoning title ambitions come under scrutiny at Manchester City.
Fulham forgot their Premier League struggles to sweep into the FA Cup fourth round with a 3-0 victory over fellow top-flight strugglers NorwichCity in a third-round replay on Tuesday.
Everton moved up to third place in the Premier League despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace as Belgium strikers Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku both got on the scoresheet in a battling encounter on Friday.
Saturday's clash between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford is already shaping up as an early-season eliminator to challenge runaway leaders Manchester City for the Premier League title.
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has made a surprise return to Chelsea's training ground ahead of Sunday's big London derby after Adidas sent a consignment of gloves to his former club by mistake. Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink, whose misfiring champions travel to Cech's Premier League leaders on Sunday, made light of the situation at a news conference on Friday. "I was here when Petr showed up. It was nice to see him," the Dutchman told reporters at the Cobham facility to the south-west of London. "We had a chat here. Almost everyone was gone already, it was late afternoon....we tried to hide them, which he did not accept. Also we tried to make them a little bit slippery but he discovered that also. "They were wrongly sent here and we gave them back. It was nice. That's the story."
Adnan Januzaj reminded Manchester United fans of his class as his 29th-minute goal earned a 1-0 win at Aston Villa and propelled them, after two humdrum triumphs, to the top of the table on Friday.
Arsene Wenger acknowledged Southampton were the sharper team as they crushed Arsenal 4-0 on Saturday but he also blamed the defeat on bad luck.
Under-pressure Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal knows losing too many more matches 'could be the end of the world' but said he still has the full backing of the club's board.
The Sun mocked its critics who celebrated the apparent disappearance of topless women.
Portugal became the first team to qualify for the Nations League semi-finals when they held Italy 0-0 on Saturday, the second time in a year that the hosts have been knocked out of a competition following a goalless draw at the San Siro.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has dismissed suggestions that midfielder Paul Pogba faces a lengthy lay-off because of a hamstring injury sustained in the Champions League defeat of Basel on Tuesday.
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